


'Twas on a Silent Winter Night

by highonchocolate



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Cart races, Cereal, Fluff, No cereal was harmed in the making of this fic, Other, Sibling Bonding, Walmart shenanigans, Warning: Batkids, Warning: Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28462506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highonchocolate/pseuds/highonchocolate
Summary: 'Twas on a silent winter night, the stars aglow with radiant light. When from the sky to earth below, there came a gentle falling snow.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Duke Thomas
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23
Collections: Gift Exchange 2020





	'Twas on a Silent Winter Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SavageNutella46](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SavageNutella46/gifts).



> Prompts: Midnight Snack Run and Shopping For Presents  
> I sorta combined them, hope you like it Sid! :D

Snow fell softly through the city, white flecks gleaming against the darkness of night, blanketing the ground in a shimmering coat of ice. Overhead, shadows flitted across rooftops, mere flickers in the dark, watching over Gotham from high above. 

Tim sat in the kitchen, eyes half-closed, thermos of coffee long gone, leaving nothing but cold dregs in the bottom of the mug. The artificial light from his computer brightened his face as he squinted and continued to type, fingers tapping across the keys. In a blur of sound and movement, Dick Grayson whirled into the room, windswept and bright-eyed with the kind of exhilaration only gained by swinging through the city on a winter’s night. He was followed by Jason’s broad form, muscles shifting under scarred skin as he stretched out the last of the knots in his body and collapsed into a chair.

“Hi Timmy! Whatcha doing?” Dick called out, peeking over Tim’s shoulder in an effort to view the screen. At his words, Tim immediately slammed the computer screen down, not allowing him to see. “Holiday presents are supposed to be a surprise, Dick. No looking!” 

“Aw.” He pouted, but accepted the explanation, moving over to the fridge to get something to eat as a post-patrol snack.

“How was patrol?” Tim asked, looking over at Jason. He continued to slouch in the chair, eyes closed and head tilted back, but answered. “Mmm, nothing much. Stopped a few muggings here and there, took down this one guy who was selling some shit to kids, pretty routine.”

“I’m assuming that by ‘took down’ you mean ‘beat to a pulp’?” Tim responded dryly, opening his computer again as Damian padded into the room to sit next to him. The younger teen said nothing, just gave them a nod of acknowledgement before snuggling deeper into his hoodie and petting Alfred the Cat, who had somehow made his way into his lap.

“Do you have to ask? Of course it did.” Jason smirked, opening his eyes to give him a shit-eating grin.

“Hey guys,” Dick called from where he had been rummaging through the pantry. “Have you seen my cereal?”

“Oh yeah,” Jason responded, tilting his head thoughtfully. “I think I saw Jerry eating it this morning.” 

“The turkey?!” Dick shouted, popping his head out from behind the door to stare at Jason incredulously. “And you didn’t say anything?!”

Simultaneously, Damian had leapt out of his chair and turned to glare at the second Robin, all hints of sleepiness gone. “How could you be so foolish as to continue to allow him to eat once you noticed?! Sugar is poisonous for turkeys!” 

“Chillax, Demon Spawn, I told Alfie and we went to the vet.” Jason replied, looking over at his youngest brother. “You didn’t think I would actually kill your pet did you?” 

Damian frowned, looking uncomfortable at the implication that Jason cared about his pets.

“...Thank you, Todd.”

“No prob, BatBrat.” 

“Damian, that was really nice of you.” Tim grinned, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “We’ll make a kind human being out of you, yet.” 

“Guys!” Dick whined, pouting at the pantry. “My cereaalllll.” 

“Dick-”

“It’s gone.”

“If you cou-”

“And I need it.”

“We can bu-”

“Like, really need it.”

“Please just li-”

“I’ll die without it.” 

_ “Dick.” _

_ “Cereal.” _

“Ugh, fine!’ Tim threw his hands up in the air. “C’mon Jay, Gremlin. Let’s go shopping.”

“Yay.” Jason muttered sarcastically as he stood up.

“Midnight shopping trip?” Stephanie popped up out of nowhere, scaring them all.

“Aah!”

“Jesus fuck!” 

“Steph!”

“Tt.  _ Brown. _ ”

Cass, who was standing next to her, smiled cheekily. “We go now?”

“Yeah, lets go.” Tim grumbled, still startled from Steph’s sudden appearance.

Duke, who had heard the commotion and came downstairs, rubbed at his eyes blearily. “Where’re we goin?”

“Walmart.” Tim gave the six of them a once over before coming to a decision.

“Cass’ driving. I don’t trust the rest of you.” 

Damian tutted in response, Jason grumbled what sounded like a disgruntled “Fine,” and Dick pouted but relented. Duke simply shrugged and went to grab a coat, knowing there was no arguing with that statement. Steph, however, frowned and opened her mouth to argue.

“ _ Especially _ you, Steph.” Tim said, not even looking back as he walked to the garage. 

“You’re so mean to me!” She stuck her tongue out at him before grabbing her coat and following. 

“Sure I am. Whatever floats your boat.” 

“Hurry up!” Dick shouted from the car, impatience written all over his face. Tim rolled his eyes but complied.

“Okay, okay, we’re here. Let’s go!”

—-

They arrived at Walmart, and Dick and Steph immediately grabbed two carts, wearing identical grins. “Cart race!” Dick hollered. “I call Tim and Duke!” 

“Yeah man, let’s go!” Duke held out his hand for a high five. Tim slapped his palm with a grin and hopped into the cart.

“Asshole!” Jason shouted, giving Dick the finger. “I’ll ref. Steph you’re pushing Cass and Damian.”

“Oh hell yeah, let’s do this!” She gave her two members a high five. “We have to destroy them!” 

Damian scowled, looking determined. “Absolutely.”

Cass nodded, eyes alight with competitive fire.

They wheeled over to the arts and crafts aisle, the one filled with the pens, and Jason counted down. 

“Three!”

Hands tightened their grips.

“Two!”

The riders did their last minute adjustments.

“One!”

Dick and Stephanie sank into crouches, bracing their feet against the floor.

“Go!”

And they were flying down the aisle, shrieks of laughter rising above the noise of two pairs of pounding feet.

Duke's eyes widened in shock. “Dick watch out we’re gonna-”

With a loud crash and clatter of metal, Dick’s cart tipped over, sending Tim and Duke careening into the aisle wall. They both instinctively tucked into rolls to minimize the damage, the three of them coming up groaning in a pile of glitter pens that they had knocked over in their crash. 

With a gleeful shriek and a cry of “Take that losers!” Steph raced across the finish line, Damian and Cass looking down at them triumphantly from their seats. 

Jason cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. “Team Dickwad loses! Victory for tea-”

He broke off as they heard the tell-tale noise of a worker coming to investigate, no doubt lured by the racket they had made during their race. Eyes wide, they silently left the carts where they lay and raced down a separate aisle full of binders, folders and assorted notebooks, snickering quietly at the worker’s incredulous cry upon seeing the chaos they had left behind.

Still laughing, they stumbled into the fabrics aisle, rows and rows of cloth, threads, yarn, and needles stretching onward. Dick spotted an electric blue ball of yarn, and grabbed it. “You know, I've always wanted to try knitting. Do you think Alfred would appreciate a scarf?”

Rolling his eyes, Jason reached out and smacked the back of his head. “Not with that color, he won't. Try something less neon.” 

“And if you're giving him a scarf make sure you have a matching hat.” Duke added from where he had gotten distracted browsing through the Superman merchandise. “Do you think we should give Bruce one of these?” He held up a stress ball with the signature ‘S’ in bright primary colors.

“Ooh yes!” Stephanie snickered, “Imagine his face when he opens it!” 

“Thomas, that is a wonderful gift for Father. You have my approval.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

“You have a death wish,” Tim said from where he was browsing the sweatshirts. “But you should totally get it anyway.”

“Speaking of gifts, Cass how do you like this?” Stephanie held up a knitted blanket with lavender and gray patterns. 

The girl in question reached over and held it in her hands, rubbing the soft threads and feeling the tassels. Grinning, she grabbed it and hugged it to her chest. “Perfect. Thank you.”

Tim plucked a eggplant sweatshirt from the rack and deposited it into Stephanie’s outstretched arms. “My gift to you, Steph.”

Stephanie unfolded it and held it up to take a look and promptly burst into laughter again. It was a shade of purple nearly identical to her Spoiler suit, and it had ‘Waffle Queen’ emblazoned on the back above a cartoony stack of waffles. “How'd this even end up in Walmart? It's like, made for me.” She gasped out between laughs, clutching it tightly. 

“Normal people aren't like you,” Jason agreed, “But this is both Gotham  _ and _ Walmart, so there's bound to be crazy shit here.”

“True that!” Dick called from where he was selecting knitting needles.

“Drake, would this be a suitable gift for you?” Damian held up a Polaroid camera with a questioning expression.

“Polaroids are super cute.” Duke inputted. 

“And besides, Mr. DIY-Photo-Developer, as much fun as it is to mess around with chemicals to get your photo, it's also fun to get it instantly.” Stephanie added.

“It's amazing Damian, I'd love to get it as a gift from you,” Tim said, reaching over and ruffling his hair.

“Little brother.” Cass held out a recipe book to Jason, who took it with surprise. “Thanks, Cass. Also, rub it in, why don'tcha? You're only older by a few months.”

Cass shrugged, smiling impishly. “Still older.”

Jason grumbled, but didn't deny it, opting instead to browse through various animal themed paraphernalia. He held up a collection of animal butt magnets, calling over his shoulder, “Hey Demon Spawn, how're these?” 

Damian turned to look and tutted in response, but couldn't hide his slight smile in time.

“Dami, you smiled! Little Wing you should definitely buy it!” Dick squealed, juggling several piles of yarn in his arms.

“Shut up Dickwing!”

“Tt. _ Grayson. _ ”

“Aren't we forgetting the reason we came?” Tim looked at them meaningfully, pointing towards the food aisle.

“Oh, yeah, why are we here anyway?” Duke asked, holding gymnastics grips in one hand and browsing his phone with the other. 

“My cereal!” Dick climbed on top of the nearest shelving rack, one arm on his hip, the other raised to the sky like an avenging warrior.

“Watch it!” Stephanie shielded her head from the barrage of pointy needles and yarn falling from above.

“Sorry,” Dick smiled sheepishly down at her.

“Cereal.” Cass frowned up at him, hands on her hips.

“Okay, let's go!” Jason started off toward the row of cereal, Tim and Duke in tow. Damian and Cass followed as Dick backflipped off his perch and did a series of handsprings over to them.

“Are we just gonna leave all that there?” Steph asked, indicating the knitting supplies.

“Eh. We'll come back for it. Eventually.” Tim said from up ahead, already halfway to the cereal aisle.

“So what type are we getting?” Jason asked, picking up a box of Lucky Charms off the shelf.

“Ew no!” Stephanie snatched it out of his grasp and put it back, grabbing a box of Coco Puffs instead. 

“Y'all are both disgusting.” Duke held up Fruit Loops, looking at their choices dismissively.

“Uh no I'm not! Chocolate is amazing!” Stephanie yelled, hugging her cereal protectively. “Don't listen to the evil man, you're delicious.”

“Marshmallows for the win, bitches!” Jason held up his choice confidently, smirking down at his shorter siblings.

“Imbeciles. Cinnamon Toast Crunch is clearly superior.” Damian snatched his box off the shelf with a sniff, eyeing the arguing three with disgust.

“Shut up, all of you!” Tim shoved past them to grab the Frosted Flakes.

“Your choices suck!” Stephanie yelled to Damian.

“And you clearly lack a refined palate!” Damian shot back.

“Dang, just when I think you've hit the lowest of the low, you manage to sink even lower.” Jason scoffed.

“It's not my fault you have no taste buds, Timberlina! Also, Duke, what is that monstrosity you carry?”

“This  _ monstrosity _ is a delicious masterpiece of flavor, thank you very much.” Duke crossed his arms defensively.

“All of you SHUT UP!” Dick walked over to them with a glare. “It is  _ my _ cereal that was eaten, which means  _ I _ get to pick!” 

Cass nodded from beside him. “His food gone. His choice to replace.”

“Pikachu, I choose you!” Dick grabbed the Applejacks with a grin.

Everyone else burst into protest.

“You want that box of knock-off Fruit Loops?!”

“Exactly! Just get my regular Fruit Loops!”

“Nasty, Dickhead!”

“I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.”

“Grayson, you disgust me.”

“No.”

Dick took one look at their murderous faces and backed away in terror, placing the Applejacks back on the shelf slowly.

“You know what, I don't think I want those anymore. Let's just get Lucky Charms.” He laughed nervously, grabbing the cereal.

“Fine.”

“Yeah!”

“I suppose that is adequate.”

“Sure.”

“Sounds good!”

“Yes.”

“Alright, then.” He continued to back away slowly, hands held placatingly. “Let's just get the rest of our stuff and go home, then?” 

His siblings had stopped looking like they were going to slit his throat in his sleep, and had downgraded to scowling at him instead. They edged around him to gather their gifts and walk over to check out, tossing him glares as they walked past, evidently unimpressed by his food choices. 

They managed to finish their shopping with no further incidents-the thing with the lightsabers and the rope does  _ not _ count, that employee managed to get down-and arrived at the Manor in one piece. 

Dick threw open the door with a grin, and they all stampeded in, laden with bags of gifts and food from Walmart, laughing at some joke Damian had told, only to come face to face with Alfred.

“Oh no.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have nothing against Applejacks.


End file.
